Low maintenance condenser

ABSTRACT

A low maintenance condenser for using in commercial refrigeration systems comprising a single metallic flat section having two or more integrally formed pipes for the flowing of a refrigerant fluid and a flat longitudinal heat dissipation section at each side of a pipe, wherein the first end of the first pipe comprising the refrigerant fluid inlet and the second end of the last pipe comprising the fluid outlet, and wherein the first end of the next pipe is connected to the second end of the previous pipe, successively until the last pipe, in order to form a single circuit having a single refrigerant fluid inlet and a single refrigerant fluid outlet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to condensers for commercial refrigeration systems and more particularly to a low maintenance condenser coil for commercial refrigeration systems, which does not make use of aluminum fins.

B. Description of Related Art

In commercial refrigeration systems, the use of finned condenser coils and an inadequate maintenance to these devices which mainly comprise the cleaning of the coil fins, causes important problems to the refrigeration systems that ranges from a temperature rise of the system, an increase of the operative pressures, a decrease of the useful life of the components, greater energy consume to premature failures of the components, mainly of the compressor, which is an expensive and essential component of the refrigeration system. These issues cause problems in the points of sale with the delivery of the final products that are not cooled enough by the refrigeration systems and therefore a rise of the operational costs.

In view of the above problems, recently, there has been a trend in the use of commercial refrigeration systems having low maintenance condensers. Such condensers eliminate the use of fins by raising the length of the pipes or the number of pipes. By eliminating the use of fins, the maintenance of the condenser coils is simplified or is carried out more sporadically. There are different shapes and configurations of condenser coils without fins such as aligned circuits (in columns or rows) or in a spiral configuration. Said condensers have good performance, however they use a larger quantity of refrigerant gas since the circuits are longer, thus increasing the power consumed by the compressor and the energy consume. Also, since said condenser coils are bigger, they require a larger space for its installation and therefore, there are not suitable for smaller refrigeration systems where the installation of such condenser coils is impossible. Finally there are technologic and economic limitations when using said condensers in combination with coils having small diameters.

There are also low maintenance condensers made of steel pipes or cooper plated steel pipes, which add a secondary area for heat dissipation by the use of steel sheets. There are more efficient than the condenser coils without fins, however they are less durable specially when exposed to saline environments due to the material that are made of (steel). Although there are made with different shapes and configurations, the most common is the helical shape.

There are also low maintenance condenser coils made of cooper which integrates as secondary heat dissipation area an extruded aluminum section, wherein the efficiency of the coil is determined by the contact area between both materials, furthermore, this kind of condenser is very expensive since it uses additional material for heat dissipation.

In view of the above referred problems, applicant developed a low maintenance condenser for commercial refrigeration systems made of a single extruded aluminum section. The aluminum is a no ferromagnetic metal that has combination of properties that makes it very useful for mechanic engineering due to its low density and high resistance to corrosion, to chemical attack, to outdoors and to sea water, thanks to a layer of Al₂O₃. Its mechanical strength can be optimized by the use of adequate metal alloys. Additionally, it has an elevated thermal conductivity (80 at 230 w/m.k), it can be easily mechanized. It can be easily recycled and its price is stable.

The low maintenance condenser of the present invention is made of a single section of extruded aluminum, in which the pipes trough which the refrigerant gas circulates and the heat dissipation areas are integrally formed in the single section. The extruded section may have one or more pipes and the interior surface of the pipes may be smooth or striated. The interior diameter of the pipes may be of from 1/16″ to 1″.

The end of the pipes are interconnected in such way that there is only one gas input and one gas output and therefore the refrigerant gas flows through the entire length of the pipes.

The low maintenance condenser of the present invention allows lengthening the maintenance intervals, or to reduce or even eliminate the necessity of maintenance depending on the operating conditions of the refrigeration system. Since the condenser (its pipes as well as the heat dissipation area) is made of a single piece and of a single material, it is ideal for heat removal or heat transference, which makes it thermodynamically efficient.

The reduced diameter of the pipes allows to reduce the amount of refrigerant gas in the system and thus to make efficient the refrigeration system by reducing the amount of power required by the compressor. The efficiency of the condenser of the present invention, also lies on the design of the heat dissipation area (the section between the pipes), which allows an optimum contact area with air for dissipating heat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a main object of the present invention to provide a low maintenance condenser for commercial refrigeration systems made of a single extruded aluminum section.

It is another main object of the present invention to provide a low maintenance condenser of the above referred nature which is made of a single section of extruded aluminum, in which the pipes trough which the refrigerant gas circulates and the heat dissipation areas are integrally formed in the single section.

Its is still another main object of the present invention to provide a low maintenance condenser of the above referred nature, in which the end of the pipes are interconnected in such way that there is only one gas input and one gas output and therefore the refrigerant gas flows through the entire length of the pipes.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a low maintenance condenser of the above referred nature, which allows lengthening the maintenance intervals, or to reduce or even eliminate the necessity of maintenance depending on the operating conditions of the refrigeration system.

It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide a low maintenance condenser of the above referred nature, in which the reduced diameter of the pipes allows to reduce the amount of refrigerant gas in the system and thus to make efficient the refrigeration system by reducing the amount of power required by the compressor. The efficiency of the condenser of the present invention, also lies on the design of the heat dissipation area (the section between the pipes), which allows an optimum contact area with air for dissipating heat.

These and other objects and advantages of the low maintenance condenser of the present invention will become apparent to those persons having an ordinary skill in the art, from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention which will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the low maintenance condenser of the present invention in accordance with a first embodiment of thereof.

FIG. 2 is a view of the cross section of the single metallic flat section of the low maintenance condenser of the present invention in accordance with a first embodiment thereof.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the low maintenance condenser of the present invention in accordance with a second embodiment of thereof.

FIG. 4 is a view of the cross section of the single metallic flat section of the low maintenance condenser of the present invention in accordance with a second embodiment thereof.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the low maintenance condenser of the present invention in accordance with a third embodiment of thereof.

FIG. 6 is a view of the cross section of the single metallic flat section of the low maintenance condenser of the present invention in accordance with a third embodiment thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The low maintenance condenser for commercial refrigeration systems of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, using reference numbers to identify the constitutive parts of the condenser, shown in the drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiments of the invention.

The low maintenance condenser of the present invention comprising:

a single metallic flat section comprising:

-   -   one or more pipes integrally formed in the flat section, for the         flowing of a refrigerant gas, each pipe being equidistantly         located parallel to each other, each extending along the length         of the flat section of extruded aluminum, and each having a         first and a second end, each pipe being integrally formed in the         flat section of extruded aluminum;     -   a flat longitudinal heat dissipating section at each side of         each pipe, each flat longitudinal heat dissipating section         having the same width;

said single flat section is plied or rolled, forming the condenser

In a first embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the single flat section 1 has four integral pipes 2, 3, 4, 5, five heat dissipation sections 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and is used in a commercial refrigeration system.

In said first embodiment, the single flat section 1 is rolled in a single piece having a plurality of waves 11 and a lower “L” shaped section 12 and wherein a first end 13 of the first pipe 2 comprises the refrigerant gas inlet “I” of the low maintenance condenser; the first end of the second pipe 15 is connected to the second end of the first pipe 14; the first end of the third pipe 17 is connected to the second end of the second pipe 16; the first end of the fourth pipe 19 is connected to the second end of the third pipe 18; and the second end of the fourth pipe 20 comprises the refrigerant gas outlet “O” of the low maintenance condenser, thus forming a single circuit for the refrigerant gas;

The ends of the pipes are connected by means of a metallic pipe welded to the ends of the pipes.

In a second embodiment of the invention shown in shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the low maintenance condenser is similar to the condenser of the first embodiment, but it has six integral pipes 2, 3, 4, 5, 21, 22, seven heat dissipation sections 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 23, 24 one gas inlet “I” and one gas outlet “O”, and the ends of each integral pipe are connected in the same way than in the first embodiment of the invention, wherein the first end of the first pipe comprises a gas outlet, and the first end of the next pipe is connected to the second end of the previous pipe, successively until the last pipe, in order to form a single circuit having a single refrigerant gas inlet and a single refrigerant gas outlet (the second end of the last pipe).

In a third embodiment of the invention, shown in shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the low maintenance condenser is similar to the condenser of the first embodiment, but it has eight integral pipes 2, 3, 4, 5, 21, 22, 25, 26 and nine heat dissipation sections, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 23, 24, 27, 28, one gas inlet “I” and one gas outlet “O”, and the ends of each integral pipe are connected in the same way than in the first embodiment of the invention, wherein the first end of the first pipe comprises a gas outlet, and the first end of the next pipe is connected to the second end of the previous pipe, successively until the last pipe, in order to form a single circuit having a single refrigerant gas inlet and a single refrigerant gas outlet (the second end of the last pipe).

In other embodiments of the invention and in the above referred embodiments, the single flat coil section of the low maintenance condenser of the present invention may have from one to as many as any number of pipes as needed, such as ten or twelve.

The interior diameter of the pipes may be of from 1/16″ to 1″, and the interior surface of the pipes may be smooth or striated.

Although it was said that in the above referred embodiments of the invention, the single flat section is rolled in a single piece having a plurality of waves and a lower “L” shaped section, it may be shaped in any suitable form depending on the needs of the refrigeration system.

Also, in other embodiments of the invention, the first ends of each pipes may be connected to an input manifold and the second end of each pipe connected to an output manifold, thus providing a parallel flow of refrigerant gas trough each pipe.

Although it was described that in the above referred embodiments the low maintenance condenser of the present invention is used in commercial refrigeration equipments, it should be understood that it may be used in any kind of refrigeration systems, including residential refrigeration systems.

It should be finally understand that the low maintenance condenser for commercial refrigeration systems, of the present invention, is not limited to the embodiments formerly described and that the persons skilled in the art will be able, by the teachings herein disclosed, to carry out changes in the low maintenance condenser, of the present invention, which will be within the true scope of the invention, which will be set forth exclusively by the following claims. 

1. A condenser for using in commercial refrigeration systems of the type comprising a single metallic flat section having two or more integrally formed pipes each having a first and a second end, for the flowing of a refrigerant fluid, and a flat longitudinal heat dissipation between each pipe, wherein the first end of the first pipe comprising the refrigerant fluid inlet and the second end of the last pipe comprising the fluid outlet and characterized by the second end of the first pipe is connected to the first end of the second pipe; the second end of the second pipe is connected to the first end of the next pipe; and the second end of the next pipe is connected to the first end of the next pipe, successively until the last pipe, in order to form a single circuit having a single refrigerant fluid inlet and a single refrigerant fluid outlet.
 2. A condenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the single metallic flat section is rolled in a single piece having a plurality of waves and a lower “L” shaped section.
 3. A condenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the interior diameter of the pipes may be of from 1/16″ to 1″.
 4. A condenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the interior surface of the pipes may be smooth or striated.
 5. A condenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal comprises extruded aluminum. 